Examining ships that have made an impact on Naval Warfare and Naval History.

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Hello out there! The purpose of this blog is to spread the word that Naval History is interesting and worth knowing. After searching the net, I couldn't find a single place that dealt solely with the subject of Naval Warfare, so I decided to create one. I will be posting pictures and text of various ships and will then describe what part those ships played in Naval Warfare and Naval History. For anyone interested in these subjects, I hope this will be your new home. Every Tuesday a new ship will be posted and each month I'll have a "Ship of the Month" displayed at the bottom of the blog. Both famous and not-so-famous ships will be highlighted. But what they all have in common is that, in some small way, they made an impact on Naval Warfare and Naval History. I think it's a historical lesson worth reading. I also hope you like what you see and I look forward to hearing from you. Thanks for dropping by.

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This blog was created by Remo. I have been forced to close my "Comments" section due to the enormous amount of spam that is being sent to it. I just can't keep up with it anymore, so I decided to end the comments. People who flood blogs with spam are jerks and should be ashamed of themselves. Anyway, if you want to contact me, e-mail me at Libertyship46@aol.com. On balance, I get less spam via my e-mail account than in the "Comments" section of the blog. So if you want to make a comment, send me an e-mail. Other readers on the blog will not be able to see it, but at least I'll have some contact with the outside world! Thank you.

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Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Figure 1: The tug W.H. Brown photographed in 1897 or 1898. This tug became USS Piscataqua in 1898 and was designated AT-49 in 1920. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 2: Fine screen halftone reproduction of a photograph taken in 1899 of USS Piscataqua. Copied from "The New Navy of the United States," by N.L. Stebbins (New York, 1912). Donation of David Shadell, 1987. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 3: USS Wompatuck, left, and USS Piscataqua, right, at Algiers, Algeria, circa January 1901, while en route from the US to the Philippines. The original print was a halftoned image. Courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1975. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 7: Asiatic Fleet ships dressed with flags in honor of George Washington's birthday, 22 February 1915, probably in a Philippine Islands harbor. The three ships in the distance are (from left to right): USS Cincinnati (Cruiser No. 7); USS Piscataqua; and USS Dale (Destroyer No. 4). Collection of C.A. Shively. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.

Named after a river located between the states of Maine and New Hampshire, USS Piscataqua was an 854-ton commercial tugboat that originally was called the W.H. Brown and was built in 1897 by the F.W. Wheeler Company at West Bay City, Michigan, for W.H. Brown & Company. Due to a need for more tugboats during the Spanish-American War, the US Navy purchased the ship on 11 May 1898 and renamed her USS Piscataqua. The tugboat was commissioned on 18 June 1898 and was approximately 149 feet long and 28 feet wide, had a top speed of 16 knots, and had a crew of 58 officers and men. Piscataqua was also armed with two 3-pounder cannons.

Piscataqua was immediately sent south and served off the coast of Cuba for the rest of the Spanish-American war. In 1900, she was assigned to the Asiatic Station and made her way eastward to Europe. After crossing the Atlantic, Piscataqua steamed along the Mediterranean, making numerous stops along the way. She then transited the Suez Canal and eventually made her way to the Philippines.

Piscataqua spent the rest of her career with the US Asiatic Fleet. She visited ports throughout the Philippines and even made a voyage to Guam. The ship was re-designated AT-49 in July 1920. USS Piscataqua was decommissioned in Cavite, the Philippines, on 10 April 1922 but was not sold for scrapping until 7 January 1931 in Manila.

Given their size and limited endurance, ships like Piscataqua traveled enormous distances during their careers. For a 149-foot tugboat in 1900 to make her way across the Atlantic, the Mediterranean, through the Suez Canal, and then to the Philippines is an accomplishment in and of itself. But then the ship went on to give another 20 years of solid service to the US Navy with the Asiatic Fleet, traveling throughout the Philippines and also to Guam. Some tugboats were even used as small gunboats in the Far East, especially in China, although Piscataqua seems to have avoided any armed confrontations. They were small ships that were required to perform big jobs, although few, if any, are remembered today.

Figure 7: USS Dale (DD-353) underway on 28 April 1938. Official US Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 8: USS Dale (DD-353) off the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Washington, 5 October 1944. Her camouflage scheme is Measure 31, Design 6d. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 10: USS Dale (DD-353) off the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Washington, 5 October 1944. Her camouflage is Measure 31, Design 6d. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 11: USS Dale (DD-353) underway at sea, June 1944, probably during the Marianas operation. Note ships conducting replenishment operations in the distance. Official US Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.

Named after Commodore Richard Dale (1756-1826), who served in the Continental Navy during the Revolutionary War and in the United States Navy in the late 1790s and early 1800s, USS Dale was a 1,395-ton Farragut class destroyer that was built at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, New York, and was commissioned on 17 June 1935. The ship was approximately 341 feet long and 34 feet wide, had a top speed of 36 knots, and had a crew of 160 officers and men. Dale was armed with five 5-inch guns, eight 21-inch torpedo tubes, and depth charges, but this armament was modified during World War II.

After being commissioned, Dale was sent to the Gulf of Mexico and the Bahamas, but was soon transferred to the Pacific. Throughout the rest of the 1930s, Dale participated in the usual peace-time naval exercises in the US Fleet and visited numerous ports, from Alaska to Peru. She also served as a gunnery training ship. In October 1939, Dale was sent to Hawaii and was stationed at Pearl Harbor. Dale was at Pearl Harbor during the Japanese attack on 7 December 1941, but the officer on duty at the time (an ensign) managed to get the ship underway and established a patrol off the entrance of the harbor. Dale’s guns opened fire on the oncoming Japanese aircraft and managed to shoot one of them down.

During the first months of the war, Dale was assigned to patrol and escort duties and screened aircraft carriers in some of the US Navy’s first counterattacks against Japan. From 14 December 1941 to 17 March 1942, Dale escorted the aircraft carriers USS Lexington (CV-2) and USS Yorktown (CV-5), which participated in air strikes against New Guinea on 10 March. Dale also screened USS Saratoga (CV-3) and escorted transports in early August 1942 during the invasion of Guadalcanal and Tulagi in the battle for the Solomon Islands. She continued escorting transports and merchant ships throughout the rest of the year.

On 9 January 1943, Dale left San Francisco, California, and was sent to the Aleutian Islands off Alaska. She participated in the occupation of Amchitka from 23 January to 19 March, patrolling the area and fighting off various Japanese attacks. On 22 March, the task force Dale was in steamed west of Attu to intercept and sink any Japanese ships trying to reinforce Japanese troops on the islands of Attu and Kiska. On 26 March, Dale’s task force collided with a Japanese task force that was escorting troop transports bound for Attu. What resulted was the little-known Battle of the Komandorski Islands, when Dale actually fired on all of the Japanese cruisers in the enemy task force while, at the same time, escorting the damaged American cruiser USS Salt Lake City (CA-25). Evidently, the Japanese lost their nerve and did not press their advantage against the smaller American task force. The Japanese withdrew and their reinforcements failed to reach Attu, leaving the Japanese troops there to their fate. Dale went on to escort transports and was used as a fire support ship during the actual invasion of Attu on 11 May 1943. She continued patrolling the waters around Attu until 1 August. She was part of the pre-invasion bombardment of Kiska on 2 August and escorted troop transports during the actual invasion of the island on 15 August.

Dale was sent back to the central Pacific in September 1943 and during the next two months escorted ships on a raid on Wake Island and escorted landing ships during the invasion of Makin Atoll in the Gilbert Islands. During the first seven months of 1944, Dale supported the invasion of the Marshall Islands by escorting carrier strike forces in the area and she bombarded Japanese positions on Saipan and Guam during June and July. After an overhaul at the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Washington, Dale escorted logistics ships that were attached to carrier operations against the Philippines and the Japanese home islands. During June and July 1945, Dale assisted in the invasion of Borneo and then returned to escort duties. She returned to the United States shortly after the war ended in the Pacific. USS Dale was decommissioned in New York on 16 October 1945 and was sold for scrapping on 20 December 1946.

USS Dale had a very active career, including her participation in a now forgotten part of World War II, the Aleutian Islands campaign. It was a violent little part of World War II, fought under horrific weather conditions, and was the only part of the war actually fought on North American soil. It deserves recognition.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Figure 1: USS Tarawa (CV-40) goes down the ways at the Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Virginia, after she was christened by Mrs. Julian C. Smith on 12 May 1945. Copied from typescript "History of the Norfolk Navy Yard in World War II," page 169. The original volume is in the collections of the Navy Department Library. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 3: USS Tarawa (CVA-40) underway in the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Straits of Messina, Sicily, on 18 December 1952. She has F2H "Banshee" jet fighters on her catapults. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 4: USS Tarawa (CVA-40) underway, probably in the Mediterranean Sea on 18 December 1952. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 5: A Grumman F8F "Bearcat" fighter landing on board USS Tarawa (CV-40) at sunset, 4 November 1948, during operations in the western Pacific area. Official US Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 6: Vought F4U-5 "Corsair" fighters from USS Tarawa (CV-40) fly in formation over the Mediterranean, 15 December 1952. Official US Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 7: USS Tarawa (CVA-40) approaches the Pedro Miguel Locks, while transiting the Panama Canal on 31 August 1954. The carrier was en route back to the Atlantic in the final stages of her September 1953 - September 1954 world cruise. Note Grumman F9F "Panther" fighter in the right foreground. Most of the other planes visible are swept-wing "Cougar" fighters. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 10: Two S2F Trackers of VS-32 "Norsemen" fly by an iceberg during USS Tarawa's August–September 1958 cruise to the South Atlantic. Allyn Howard comments: "I was an air crewman on board one of the S2F's [in this photo]. We were going out on a routine flight and we were directed to fly by the iceberg for pictures. [...] The iceberg was a beautiful blue green color [...]" Tarawa herself can barely be seen in the left background. Courtesy Allyn Howard, VS-32 & VS-22, 1957–1960. Click on photograph for larger image.

Named after an atoll in the Gilbert Islands that was the scene of one of the bloodiest battles of World War II, USS Tarawa was a 27,100-ton Ticonderoga class aircraft carrier that was built by the Norfolk Navy Yard at Portsmouth, Virginia, and was commissioned on 8 December 1945. The ship was approximately 888 feet long and 93 feet wide, had a top speed of 33 knots, and had a crew of 3,448 officers and men. Tarawa was armed with 12 5-inch guns, 32 40-mm guns, and 46 20-mm guns, and could carry approximately 82 aircraft.

After completing her shakedown cruise in early 1946, Tarawa was assigned to the US Pacific Fleet in July. From July 1946 to April 1947, Tarawa was sent to the central and western Pacific, making stops at Saipan, the Mariana Islands, and Japan. Tarawa also visited Tsingtao, China, and Guam before returning to the United States. While based at San Francisco, California, Tarawa patrolled off the west coast of the United States and completed numerous training exercises. On 28 September 1948, Tarawa left San Diego, California, on a cruise that would take her around most of the world. She headed west and made stops at China, Singapore, Ceylon, and the Persian Gulf, and then entered the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal. Tarawa made additional stops in Greece, Turkey, and Crete before leaving the Mediterranean and heading for the United States. She arrived at Norfolk, Virginia, in February 1949. Tarawa was placed out of commission in June 1949.

Tarawa was called back to active duty after the start of the Korean War and was re-commissioned on 3 February 1951. She was assigned to the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean and was re-designated CVA-40 on 1 October 1952. From September 1953 to September 1954, Tarawa steamed around the world, conducting patrols in the Mediterranean and Far East. In December 1954, Tarawa entered the Boston Naval Shipyard at Boston, Massachusetts, for an overhaul and to be converted into an antisubmarine aircraft carrier. On 10 January 1955, Tarawa was re-designated CVS-40 and her conversion was completed by the summer of that year.

For the next five years, Tarawa served as an antisubmarine warfare (ASW) platform carrying helicopters and propeller-driven ASW aircraft. Based primarily at Norfolk, Virginia, Tarawa patrolled along the east coast of the United States and in the Caribbean. Tarawa had the important task of conducting barrier patrols against the growing Soviet submarine and surface fleet and she also assisted in the training of new Navy pilots for the Atlantic Fleet. Ships like Tarawa provided a credible defense against Soviet warships at a time when the Cold War could have erupted into a shooting war at any given moment.

But newer and larger aircraft carriers were entering the fleet, so in May 1960 Tarawa was decommissioned for the last time. She was placed in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was re-classified an aircraft transport (AVT-12) in May 1961. But Tarawa never served as an aircraft transport and on 3 October 1968 she was sold for scrapping. Although too late to serve in World War II, Tarawa and ships like her were the backbone of the fleet during the Cold War and they provided an excellent defense against a growing naval threat emanating from the Soviet Union.

Figure 2: USS Monterey (BM-6) at the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, in 1895. The yard's coal sheds are in the background. Other ships are not identified. US Navy photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 5: USS Monterey (BM-6) is seen off Mare Island Navy Yard, California, June 1898, ready for her voyage to the Philippines. The old monitor USS Comanche is visible beyond Monterey's after turret. US Navy photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 6: Main deck is awash while USS Monterey (BM-6) is making a full power run, probably during her crossing of the Pacific in August of 1898 to join Admiral George Dewey's fleet in the Philippines. US Navy photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 8: Stern view of the USS Monterey (BM-6) while in dry dock in China, circa 1900-1904. Photograph from the collection of George Henry Snow, courtesy of Mark Kozak. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 9: Stern view of the USS Monterey (BM-6) while in dry dock in China, circa 1900-1904. Photograph was probably taken during the summer because of the awning covering her stern section. Photograph from the collection of George Henry Snow, courtesy of Mark Kozak. Click on photograph for larger image.

Named after a city in California, USS Monterey (BM-6) was a 4,084-ton, twin-turreted monitor built by the Union Iron Works at San Francisco, California. She was one of the first ships built for America’s New Steel Navy and was laid down on 20 December 1889. Monterey was launched on 28 April 1891 and was commissioned on 13 February 1893. The ship was approximately 260 feet long and 59 feet wide, had a top speed of 13.6 knots, and had a crew of 210 officers and men. Monterey was armed with two 12-inch guns in the forward turret, two 10-inch guns in the aft turret, six 6-pounders, and four 1-pounders.

Monterey was designed primarily for harbor and coastal defense. From 1893 to 1898, she was attached to the US Navy’s Pacific Squadron and patrolled off the west coast of the United States while based at the Mare Island Navy Yard near San Francisco. In 1895, Monterey made a rare extended voyage down the west coast of South America and visited ports in Peru and Panama.

After the start of the Spanish-American War and Commodore George Dewey’s major victory at Manila Bay on 1 May 1898, Monterey was ordered to steam to the Philippines to support Dewey and the Asiatic Squadron. Although not designed for steaming across an open ocean, Monterey left San Diego, California, for the Philippines on 11 June and was escorted by the collier Brutus. After making stops at Honolulu, Hawaii, and Apra, Guam, Monterey completed her 8,000-mile journey and arrived at Cavite, the Philippines, on 13 August. The monitor supported the occupation of Luzon, the Philippines, well into 1899 and in September of that year she joined the gunboats USS Charleston and USS Concord in destroying a rebel Filipino gun battery. Monterey stayed in the Philippines until 6 April 1900, when she was ordered to go to Hong Kong for an overhaul. From July 1900 to September 1901, Monterey served as the station ship at Shanghai, China, and made a voyage up the Yangtze River to Nanking in July 1902, transporting Commissioner T.S. Sharretts on a special diplomatic mission. After that, Monterey remained in China and patrolled the waters between Chefoo and Hong Kong, as well as serving as the station ship at Shanghai for brief periods of time. Monterey returned to Cavite in the spring of 1903 and was decommissioned there on 15 December 1904.

On 28 September 1907, Monterey was re-commissioned at Olongapo, the Philippines, but was placed in reserve. She made occasional trips to Cavite and Manila for overhauls and target practice and was placed in full commission on 9 November 1911. Monterey returned to China in November and visited numerous ports there, including Foochow, Swatow, Shanghai, and Hong Kong. She returned to Cavite in 1913 and was placed back in reserve.

After World War I began in Europe, Monterey steamed from Olongapo to Cavite on 11 August 1914. She patrolled the waters around the Philippine Islands throughout the war, serving primarily as a coastal defense ship and gunboat. Monterey left Cavite on 13 November 1917, along with the collier Ajax, and sailed to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, arriving there on 19 December. The aging monitor became the station ship at Pearl Harbor and remained there until she was decommissioned for the last time on 27 August 1921. USS Monterey was sold for scrapping on 25 February 1922.

Figure 2: The first of USS Miantonomoh's (BM-5) 10-inch guns is placed into position, circa 1890. Photo # det 4a14671 by The Detriot Publishing Company, now in the archives of the Library of Congress as LC-D4-20894. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 7: Bow on view of the USS Miantonomoh (BM-5) in an undated photograph. Photo from National Archives & Record Administration (NARA), Record Group 19-N, Box 33. Courtesy of Dan Treadwell. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 9: USS Miantonomoh (BM-5) drying laundry at the time of the Spanish-American War, 1898. Photo printed on a stereograph card, photographed and published by B.W. Kilburn, Littleton, New Hampshire. The card, which is entitled "The Monster that made the Spanish Quake at Santiago de Cuba," also bears the name of James M. Davis, who may have been a distributor. Photo No. NH 105787 courtesy of the US Naval Historical Center. Donation of Charles R. Haberlein Jr., 2008. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 10: Postcard of USS Miantonomoh (BM-5) circa 1906, most likely by Edward H. Mitchell Publishers of San Francisco, California, probably based on a photograph by Enrique Muller. Photograph courtesy of Patricia Mathis. Click on photograph for larger image.

Named after a leader of the Narragansett Indians, USS Miantonomoh (BM-5) was a 3,990-ton, iron-hulled, twin-screwed, double-turreted monitor that was laid down by John Roach & Sons at Chester, Pennsylvania, in 1874. [Note: There is a variation on the spelling of the name of this ship and some sources show it as “Miantonomah.” The official spelling of the ship by the US Navy seems to be Miantonomoh.] The ship was launched on 5 December 1876 and was commissioned in an uncompleted condition on 6 October 1882. Miantonomoh then steamed from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to New York City and was decommissioned on 13 March 1883. Funding for monitors in the post-Civil War era was painfully slow and the ship remained under construction from 1883 to 1891. Miantonomoh was finally completed by the New York Navy Yard and was fully commissioned on 27 October 1891. The ship was approximately 263 feet long and 55 feet wide, had a top speed of 10.5 knots, and had a crew of 150 officers and men. As completed, Miantonomoh was armed with four 10-inch guns (two in each turret) and two 6-pounders.

After being commissioned, Miantonomoh patrolled off the east coast of the United States from New York to Charleston, South Carolina. From 1892 to 1895, the monitor supported fleet target practice exercises and was also used as a training ship for the naval militias in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Miantonomoh then was decommissioned at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 20 November 1895.

Miantonomoh was re-commissioned on 10 March 1898, shortly after the sinking of the battleship USS Maine in Havana Harbor on 15 February 1898. On 25 April 1898, the United States declared war on Spain and Miantonomoh was sent to Charleston, South Carolina, for a final “fitting out” for battle. On 5 May, the monitor joined Rear Admiral William T. Sampson’s fleet, which was assigned to blockade Cuba. Miantonomoh remained on blockade duty until the war ended in August. The ship returned to Charleston on 29 August and went on to Philadelphia on 1 October. Miantonomoh was decommissioned once again at Philadelphia on 8 March 1899.

In 1906, Miantonomoh was loaned to the Maryland Naval Militia as a training ship and was officially re-commissioned on 9 April 1907. However, she returned to Philadelphia on 4 December and was decommissioned for the last time on 21 December 1907. The ship languished at Philadelphia until 17 December 1915, when USS Miantonomoh was designated a target ship. She was struck from the Navy list on 31 December 1915 and what was left of the hulk was sold for scrapping on 26 January 1922.

Ship of the Month: USS Wandank

The 795-ton USS Wandank (AT-26) was an Algorma class fleet tug that was built by the Ferguson Steel and Iron Company at Buffalo, New York, and was commissioned on 23 March 1920. The ship was approximately 156 feet long and 30 feet wide, had a top speed of 13 knots, and had a crew of 25 officers and men. For roughly 20 years after being commissioned, Wandank worked along America’s east coast, primarily near her base at Norfolk, Virginia. In 1939, she assisted with the rescue and salvage efforts for the submarine USS Squalus (SS-192), which had accidently sunk off Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Wandank then was based at Boston, Massachusetts, in October 1940 and remained there throughout World War II. Her designation was changed to ATO-26 in May of 1944. Wandank was decommissioned in September 1946 and in July 1947 was sold to a commercial firm in New Orleans, Louisiana, which operated her under the name of W.A. Bisso. The tug was scrapped in 1971 after being in service for 51 years. The photograph shows USS Wandank at Boston circa the later 1920s or early 1930s. USS Constitution is on the opposite side of the pier. US Naval Historical Center Photograph.